Company News

President Obama announced a deal Monday evening to extend the Bush-era tax rates for two years, as well as other tax breaks and unemployment benefits, after Republican and Democratic congressional leaders forged a compromise in meetings with administration officials.
However, the deal to extend the Bush tax cuts even for those making more than $250,000 a year met with criticism from some Democrats who accused the president of giving in to Republican tactics and violating one of his campaign pledges.
Read full article at Accounting Today

The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2011 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2011, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car...
Read full article at IRS.Gov

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio granted summary judgment to online travel companies (OTC) because it concluded that the surcharges and service fees charged by the OTCs did not qualify as guest taxes. The OTCs contract with hotels for rooms at discounted rates ("net rates") and resell the rooms to consumers at marked-up rates ("reservation rates")...
Read full notice...

The IRS has issued guidance regarding in-plan Roth rollovers. Code Sec. 401(k), Code Sec. 403(b) and Code Sec. 457(b) government plans are permitted under amendments to Code Sec. 402A(c) by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-240) to allow in-plan Roth rollovers for eligible rollover distributions made after September 27, 2010, from a non-Roth account into a designated Roth account in the same plan.
Read full notice...

Homeowners making energy-saving improvements this fall can cut their winter heating bills and lower their 2010 tax bill as well. According to the Internal Revenue Service, last year’s Recovery Act expanded two home energy tax credits: the Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit and the Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit.
The Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit equals 30 percent of what a homeowner spends on eligible energy-saving improvements, up to a maximum tax credit of $1,500 for the combined 2009 and 2010 tax years. The cost of certain high-efficiency heating and air conditioning systems, water heaters and stoves that burn biomass all qualify, along with labor costs for installing these items.
Read full article at Accounting Today